WEEK THREE
SELECTED ACTIVITIES
Timeline
On Monday, the students engaged with history as a source of inspiration for storytelling. To start the day’s activities after a brief feedback session from our weekend activity, we asked students to journal about a period in history that interests them and why. By focusing on the “macro” setting — larger location and time in particular — students felt they could dive into stories of the past with a wide point-of-view. Before everyone shared their time period, students guessed as to which one of them had the earliest time period. Once this was established, the student wrote their time period as the earliest date on a timeline hanging on the wall. The earliest point in history came from a student who was very interested in the pyramids of Egypt and how they were built, pitching a fantasy story about conspiracies surrounding the monuments. Showcasing the breadth of interests in our group, the last time period was 1991 Russia with the formation of new post-Soviet countries. We went down the line, sharing our periods and adding them to the timeline, discussing how these impactful moments in history have “micro” conflicts which speak to problems our society faces today.
Wish Tree
Wish Tree is an activity modified from creative interventions staged by Yoko Ono. In this activity, individuals anonymously wrote their personal and global wishes onto tags, hanging them on a tree. This activity is special because the tree stayed with us on location during the workshops, and for the following weeks, we could water it together, nourishing the tree along with our hopes for change and betterment in the world. These tags are infinitely inspiring — some simple wishes for joy, many wishes for self-improvement, and still more wishing for global change. This tree inspired our students to write different plays, as well, with one participant discussing how it made her reconceptualize dialogue and communication. She thought of how parents and children could write their secrets onto a tree, where they could learn the “hard things” about one another. The tree not only grounded us to a set of hopes but also opened an exploration of non-traditional forms of communication as a viable way to begin hard dialogues, interpersonally and globally.
Identity Collage
Mid-way through the week we hosted a creative identity workshop day, where students moved around six unique stations throughout the room and reflected on different parts of their own identity, using a mix of media to tell their stories. Particularly notable was the “Identity Collage” station, in which students used local magazines, newspapers, images, colorful paper, stickers, and other embellishments to create collages that represented them. This activity was tactile and captivating, using a brand new medium to tell a personal story. Each student’s work was drastically different, and each deeply representative of their personalities and interests.
Balloon Icebreaker
Warming up before students started working on their collages, we played a game to get to know everyone on a deeper level since we had new students attending the workshop that day. Students passed a balloon around the circle with personal and interesting questions written on it. When students felt like it was their turn, they caught the balloon and wherever their thumb landed on the balloon, they answered that question. The questions ranged from “What are you excited for?” to “Have you ever broken a bone?” and everyone had a great time sharing their intimate stories. It was so effective in generating dialogue that students wanted to stay after hours to keep playing and learning more about each other.
Pitches
Thursday was an impactful day full of reflection and preparation for what comes next. Students completed worksheets which recapped our activities from the past three weeks, jogging their memories about all of the stories and hard work they have put into this program. After brainstorming on the worksheet, students recorded their play ideas for their final showcase performance in two weeks on posters. Students were encouraged to think about which of their ideas might make good ten-minute plays and which might serve the story better as monologues or poems. Presenting their pitches, students were visibly invested in their ideas and spoke with such enthusiasm about the idea of putting pen to paper. This was the first time the students were speaking in front of a group on their own creative ideas and the room was full of support. Plenty of feedback was given from the other students about how they can continue to flesh out their ideas for the stage. While some expressed general interest in an idea, the feedback session energized them to focus on many of their piece suggestions.
CHALLENGES
Half-Way Slump
Seeing as we hit the half-way point in the program in week 3, there was a noticeable energy slump from the dedicated students that have been attending every day. When we would repeat an activity for the purpose of getting better at a skill or having fun, some of the older students expressed their disdain for doing activities they had already seen. While newer students enjoyed the activities in similar ways that the older students had when it was first proposed, the negativity around the activities brought with it a general slump in energy and excitement. Since our days had been fairly structured since the beginning of the workshop, we saw the former excitement about the program return when students were given a day to freely create their identity collages and work on other art projects in a relaxed environment. With snacks and tea aplenty, students returned with a new focus on the larger showcase and their works appearing in publication and onstage.
Uninspired
Some students complained mid-way through the week about their lack of inspiration from certain activities, and their not wanting to force stories on “useless” topics. This was recognized as part of the mid-way slump which struck many of our most dedicated students. This lack of inspiration is something many creatives face, particularly after consistently stretching their abilities. However, the frustration brought on a useful conversation about how creatives often have to rely on discipline, not always inspiration. How can we push ourselves to write even when we do not see stories around us? How, in looking at images or concepts we have not yet explored in detail, might we be challenged to look at new voices, perspectives, and histories? We were able to have a productive conversation about working through “uninspiring” days, as well as change the format for the rest of the week’s activities to disrupt the monotony of routine.
TAKEAWAYS
The Program Grows
In its third week, the program continued to grow, with three new students joining, as well as new students from week 2 continuing to attend. New students brought new perspectives and a new energy to the space, which kept activities exciting and stories new.
Students Demonstrate Breadth
Our students wowed us at the end of the week with their pitches of ideas for their ten-minute plays. Students demonstrated a robust knowledge of storytelling and integrated a multitude of ideas from previous workshop sessions. This was deeply rewarding as facilitators. Their ideas are meaningful and their stories are thoughtful; they blend personal and political histories and stories in a way which demonstrates a deeper understanding of the artist’s role in society. We have tremendous confidence in their abilities to continue creating purposeful art throughout their lives, and in week 3, our faith was confirmed. Further, they were able to provide feedback to one another and develop their story ideas with many perspectives, often differing, which makes each feel valued and heard.
